Alan Alsop: 14/3*.Here the threat is more obvious. Leaving the sanctuary of the 21 pt is not on. Unless Blue makes the poor play of 14/8 13/8 blots are inevitable. I prefer taking away half Whites move and see what happens.
John Bakovic: 14/3*.
Breaking the four-point anchor cannot be correct and staking on the eight point is too passive. So leaves use with hitting the two or three point blotter. Leaving one less blotter and hitting the three looks correct to me.
Chuck Bower: 14/3*.
Blue's anchor means playing safely is unnecessary. Blue's racedeficit and White's supply of builders give Blue even more reasonto sit tight on the 21-point rather than covering the 10-point.Starting the 5-point is a candidate, but hittingWhite in the homeboard diverts White's attention from building his5-point, leaves fewer shots than 10/5, and the 3-point is way betterto own than the 2-point, the alternate hitting site. 14/3* for me.
Doug Doub: 14/3*.
The 'safe' play of 14-8, 13-8 does nothing for Blue, and itleaves ten shots. The major decision is whether to hit or run off theanchor, making the 10pt. We trail in the race, suggesting that we not runat this time, and White would have a number of ways to point on us. Itcould work out, by giving us a better chance of forming a good blockingposition, but it is not appealing.
Between hitting on the 3pt and hitting on the deuce point, the deuce pointleaves six fewer shots. However, if we succeed in making the 3pt, we willhave accomplished enough more, so that it is worth the risk.
Neil Kazaross: 14/3*.
Running looks like suicide here and we're behind in the race as well.Let's look for some kind of offensive play. Hitting both blots and breakingthe 8 point looks too loose so lets look at either 14/3x or 13/2x. 14/3x hasthe most to gain when it works and with White's board not ready yet, I leanslightly towards that play in spite of the extra shots.
George Klitsas: 14/8, 13/8.
21/10 is thematically (behind in the race) and tactically (too many White builders poised on the four point) wrong. If White had the mid, I would probably play 14/8 6/1, in order to keep a spare on my own mid. The fact that White lacks the mid, allows me to play the slightly better 14/8 13/8.
Laila Leonhardt: 14/3*.
It is very tempting to fly off the anchor but much to risky with the loadedpoints of builders in front.That anchor is going to ensure that there is a game till the end.Hitting is going to create flexibility, instead of stacking up the checkersand another consideration is that Blue does mind getting another checkersend back, it might even benefit his flexibility to built an outside primeand contain White.
Snowie: 14/3*.
I'm not breaking my anchor, which would risk getting pounded on. The safe14/8, 13/8 is just too ugly to contemplate, not to mention that it giveWhite his full roll. I'm going to try to get something going withthis mess.
Marty Storer: 14/3*.
No way should Blue abandon the 21 point, trying to race whenbehind,and giving White good attacking chances. Other plays are awkward, so it looksgood to hit loose on the point Blue would rather make. 14/3* doesn't stripanything and keeps all assets. 13/2* keeps more outfield coverage and cutsshots, but strips the midpoint and puts a checker in bad position. 14/3*ought to be better.
Bob Stringer: 14/3*.
This is a crummy roll. At first I was tempted to play 14/10, butright now the anchor is the strongest thing in my position andWhite has a ton of checkers that would love to attack if I breakit up. As it is, White has numerous ways to either hit the blot onthe 10 point, make a point on his side of the board or even makemy bar point. I therefore have to throw him off balance. Thatcalls for hitting him. 14/3* over 13/2* since it starts a betterpoint.
Casper van der Tak: 14/3*.
Blue is going to leave some shots, so we might as well hit something and hope to make a useful point. Entering 6s that do not hit will not play to nicely for White.
Kit Woolsey: 14/3*.
I can't just sit there -- we have to do something. Running a back checkerlooks premature at this point, even though making the 10 point would benice. White has too many attackers. I believe that I can afford torisk a loose hit, since White has no board. Also, the hit prevents Whitefrom making his five point next roll. As long as I am going to take achance, I'll go for the better point with 14/3* at the cost of leaving afew more return shots.
Chris Yep: 14/8, 13/8.
Perhaps a wimpy play in light of Blue's advanced anchor, but I can't bring myself to hit loose (14/3* or 13/2*) which not only dumps a checker deep in Blue's board, but gives White 22 return shots after 14/3* and 16 return shots after 13/2*. 14/8 6/1 puts a checker out of play. 14/8 10/5 and 13/8 10/4 give White a double-direct shot. Finally 21/10 is out of the question. Not only is Blue 8 pips behind in the race after the roll (thus racing is likely to be wrong), but it strands a back man to a possible strong White attack (White has 13 checkers on 4 different points aiming at the checker). With nothing better to do then, I'd play 14/8 13/8. It gives White 10 shots (7s and 8s except 2-2 and 4-4), but if missed, Blue has good chances to start building a prime.
Summary: The panel was very clear in its mandate here on what wouldappear at first to be a pretty complex problem. It is simply a matter ofputting your checkers where they are most functional while preventing theopponent from doing the same.
